Backrooms (dir. Kane Parsons)

by Jack Martin | May 30, 2026

Certificate: 15

Running Time: 110 mins

UK Distributor: A24

UK Release Date: 29 May 2026

WHO’S IN BACKROOMS?

Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, Lukita Maxwell, Avan Jogia

WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?

Kane Parsons (director, composer), Will Soodik (writer), Kori Adelson, Peter Chernin, Michael Clear, Dan Cohen, Chris Ferguson, Dan Levine, Shawn Levy, Roberto Patino, Osgood Perkins, Jenno Topping and James Wan (producers), Edo Van Breemen (composer), Jeremy Cox (cinematographer), Greg Ng (editor)

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

A mysterious realm is discovered behind the walls of a furniture showroom…

WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON BACKROOMS?

The journey of the whole Backrooms phenomenon, from its origin as a viral 4chan creepypasta to Kane Parsons’ popular YouTube series, was always destined to end up at A24. The distributor’s unique brand of artisanal horror, which has practically become its own subgenre thanks to successes like Hereditary, The Witch and Talk to Me among others, aligns quite beautifully with the eerie and almost Kubrickian aesthetic of the titular liminal space, as though whoever came up with it had A24 in mind long before the studio itself even caught wind of it.

Naturally, Backrooms – also directed by Parsons in his feature filmmaking debut – is as archetypically A24 as it gets. Parsons’ slow-burn approach and vividly surreal imagery makes for a fine bedfellow with the general tropes one often expects from one of their horrors by this point, but the director displays a rare talent in making it all feel like his own singular vision while still delivering on what audiences expect to see. It’s already an impressively unsettling watch as it is, yet it also announces Parsons as a distinct force when it comes to establishing some seriously creepy cinematic atmosphere.

The film takes place sometime in the early 90s, with failed architect turned struggling furniture store owner Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor) making an unusual discovery in his workplace. Thanks to some strangely placed switches in the building’s electrical distribution board, Clark uncovers a portal through the store walls into a vast, seemingly never-ending realm made up entirely of empty corridors and workspaces featuring some warped furniture and other odd items like stop signs with backwards lettering and piles of dirty laundry. His efforts to further explore this unknown territory soon involve his co-workers Kat (Lukita Maxwell) and Bobby (Finn Bennett), and much later on his own therapist Dr. Mary Kline (Renate Reinsve), only for all to fall victim in some capacity to the unexpected horrors that lie deep within.

As someone whose only prior experiences with the lore of the Backrooms were mere online references in a couple of Reddit forums (plus a rather amusing parody by fellow YouTube channel Smosh), I was surprised by how effective this minimalist world felt in a cinematic format. Parsons obviously knows the mythos inside and out, and keeps much of it as close to his chest as he can to preserve its wider sense of mystery, but from a filmmaking perspective he makes rather excellent use of the vast emptiness of it all, creating a creepily spacious atmosphere out of the ugly greenish-yellow décor that cleverly masks whatever may be around every corner at any given time. Cinematographer Jeremy Cox uses the unnerving and sometimes claustrophobic environment to craft some effective surreal imagery that feels like a neat blend of Stanley Kubrick and David Lynch, though it all manages to seem uniquely of Parsons’ vision as the director brings an otherworldly tone that stands out from his long-gone influences, one that is both postmodern and nostalgic for that classic analogue method of visual storytelling.

Some of the most exciting – and indeed terrifying – moments come courtesy of some extended sequences where it briefly adopts the style of a found-footage movie, and funnily enough manages to outshine many other recent movies of that actual format. Parsons and screenwriter Will Soodik use the first-person camerawork to take viewers on a nerve-racking first-person tour of the Backrooms, whether it’s through the intermittently lit corridors or deep down a steeply sloped ramp, which vastly adds to the scariness for not only does it plant you directly in the middle of the wildly unpredictable environment, but the eventual frights get an earned reaction because they’re free of the usual jump-scare tactics often found in most modern horror films. Even when the film opts for a more traditionally shot format, the cinematography and production design adds to the uncertainty as it plays with forced perspective and the idea of uncanny replicas and doppelgangers existing in hidden pockets of our dimension (which also makes one think that Jordan Peele’s Us had its own role in shaping the lore of the Backrooms, or at least the one that’s presented in this movie).

In terms of flaws, the script doesn’t give many of its limited characters a lot of depth or even much personality. You could argue that’s the point, given how much of the Backrooms itself is intentionally unknown, not to mention the eerie heightened reality that they occupy, but despite committed performances by the likes of Ejiofor and Reinsve it can be a little tricky to identify with their characters on a human level as they mostly go through the regular trials without providing clear moments of emotional resonance. The third act also goes in a couple of directions that feel a bit contrived, even ending on a point that is bound to raise more questions among its uninitiated audiences than it provides clear answers.

Those issues aside, Backrooms is a strong and confident debut from Parsons that sets him up alongside as a formidable horror visionary of the future. Oh, and did I mention that he’s also, as of this review, only 20 years of age? Man, between him and fellow twentysomething Curry Barker of Obsession, this month has proven without a doubt that the future of horror is in safe hands. Especially if A24 – or even Blumhouse – is involved.

SO, TO SUM UP…

Backrooms is a strong cinematic interpretation of the viral creepypasta that sees debut filmmaker Kane Parsons, expanding upon his web series, hone some impressive filmmaking skills to create an effectively creepy atmosphere that is drenched in intense cinematography and surreal visuals, setting him up for a bright future in the field.